Dad?
by damareina
Summary: Mr Potter, has it ever occured to you that you are not who your mother says you are?" Jamie Potter tries to make sense of strange hats, arguments and his parents. Was a one-shot. A new chapter now up. Please review!
1. Chapter 1

"_Mr Potter, has it ever occurred to you that you are not who your mother says you are?"_

Jamie gazed out the window of Gryffindor tower, unable to focus on his work. It had been three years since he came to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and every year he was topping half his classes, much to his aunt's pleasure. Hogwarts was everything his mum and uncles had told him it would be and more. From the first moment on the Hogwarts Express he had a firm friend in Benjamin Thomas, and things could never be boring with his cousins around.

One sentence, however, made him feel like a stranger to his world. Made him re-think everything he had ever known. He grew up living with his mum, Nan and Pop in The Burrow. He was one of the eldest grandchildren of Molly and Arthur Weasley. Every Sunday, the whole family would get together for Sunday Lunch at the Burrow. The kids would go off in the yard and play while the adults sat either outside watching them or inside talking.

Life was peaceful, thanks to his father. The evil Lord Voldemort had been destroyed just over thirteen years ago. People were getting on with life, letting the wounds the war had left heal. Jamie was one of those people. He didn't know much about the war, no one would tell him, but he knew that his father saved the world, dying in the process.

His father was a hero. That's what Jamie held onto. Although he never met his father, he had seen many photographs of him and loved listening to the stories that Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione would tell him of their Hogwarts adventures. Jamie wanted to be just like his father.

One sentence changed all of that though.

"…_you are not who your mother says you are…"_

He was James Harrison S. Potter. That's what it said on his birth certificate. That's what he had been called all his life. That's the name his mother gave him.

"…_has it ever occurred to you…"_

Nothing had ever felt strange or wrong to Jamie. Sometimes he would say something slightly snide or be surprised at the way he intimidated people, but he was the son of the most powerful wizard since Albus Dumbledore, surely it was normal that people would be intimidated by him. He was average height for his age and a little bit scrawny. He had his father's black hair but his mother's blue eyes, how could he not be who he was?

"Stupid sorting hat, must be getting to old for this job. It can't even tell who's who anymore."

"Did you say something Jamie?" The sound of Ben's voice snapped Jamie out of his thoughts.

"Nah, just thinking about things. Never mind me." Jamie stood up and walked away. He stopped in front of the fire and stared into it. For three years he had not thought much about what the sorting hat had said to him. In fact, he'd pretty much forgotten all about it.

"_Ahh, Mr Potter. Yes…a fine young wizard you are. Hmm, such a thirst for knowledge, yet also a need to prove yourself. A wise mother and powerful father. Yes, great things can be expected of you, dear boy. My my, another son of the Old Families not entering the house of his for-fathers. Mr Potter, has it ever occurred to you that you are not who your mother says you are? Hmm, just something for you to think about. As for your house, I think you will do exceedingly well in GRYFFINDOR!"_

It seemed so long ago that the sorting hat sat on his head telling him this. No, he hadn't thought about it much. After all, what would an old school hat know?

"…_another son of the Old Families not entering the house of his for-fathers."_ Jamie drew back his hand and slammed his fist into the mantle. _What the hell does that mean?_ He thought, furious that he didn't know. _As far back as can be traced, every Potter and every Weasley was a Gryffindor._ It didn't make sense to Jamie.

Although…, just before he returned to school after Christmas this year, Jamie overheard an argument between his mum and aunt. They were shouting at each other, which doesn't happen often, so it must have been serious.

"…_can't keep lying to me! What is wrong with you?"_

"_Ginny, you have to see it from our side! Strange things are going on with him-"_

"_So you wrote to _Neville_? Without even thinking to _ask_ me about it?"_

"_Well he is the head of Gryffindor, and you don't tell me things anymore! Not since the war."_

"_But he's my son, Hermione! _My son_!"_

"_Exactly! Sure he's _your_ son, that's easy to see. The question is, is he Harry's? I don't know about you, but the man I can see in Jamie is defiantly not Harry Potter, it's – "_

"_Don't you dare finish that sentence."_

Going over the scene in his mind Jamie tried to make sense of what was happening. Then it slowly dawned on Jamie what his aunt had been implying. _That he wasn't Harry Potter's son._ Suddenly Jamie felt sick. He buckled at the knees and began to fall. Finally things were becoming clear. The old school hat wasn't as senile as he had thought. In-fact, it was canny to the situation long before anyone else.

Jamie didn't even feel the fire as he fell into it, his mind going blank.

The first thing Jamie said when he opened his eyes and saw his mum was "Who am I?". At the question Ginny instantly replied; "James Harrison S. Potter."

"I know that mum." He replied coldly. "What I meant was who _am_ I? Who am I really? _Who is my father?_"

His mum shifted uncomfortably on his bed. Although the question caught her off guard, it was clear that she had been expecting such a question one day. "The Hospital Wing is not the best place to be discussing such things, James."

"Just tell me mum."

"Maybe once you have been cleared, we can go home have a rest and – "

"Tell me who he is! Thirteen years is a long time to hide something this big from me. I have the right to know."

The nurse bustled over. "You're free to go Mr Potter. Just remember to put this salve on your burns twice daily and come see me if the pain comes back."

Jamie's mum sighed, defeated. She stood up and took Jamie by the hand, leading him out of the Hospital Wing up to a very familiar office. Barely missing a heartbeat she spoke the password and walked up the staircase to a heavy oak door. The door opened and Jamie tentatively followed his mum in.

"Mum, what are we doing here?" He whispered.

A gruff voice sounded out from the shadows behind the headmaster's desk. "Can I help you Mrs Potter?"

Standing a little straighter Jamie's mum looked almost like the defiant schoolgirl she had once been.

"I am here to make an introduction." She turned to her son. "James Harrison S. Potter, I introduce you to your biological father."

The headmaster stepped forward into the light and looked Jamie up and down. "Very touching Mrs Potter. May I inquire as to what the 'S' stands for?"

"I thought that would be obvious, to you at least. It's his father's name, your name."

"James Harrison Snape Potter. I like it." Professor Snape tested the name in his mouth. "Although, I would prefer it if there was no Potter on the end." He smirked.

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**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, wish I did but I don't, so there.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N: Here we are, a new chapter. I have considered what my reviewers said and have decided that this will be continued.**

**P.S Harry Potter isn't mine, it's J.K.R's.  
**

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"You must be bloody joking!" Jamie said once his voice came back to him. "There is no way that twat can possibly –"

"'That twat', as you put it, is your father and he deserves your respect. And I think that we'll need to talk about your language, young man!"

His mother frowned at him but Jamie took no notice. He was surprised at how calm he was. Usually when he found out about something that had been hidden from him, (like the time that his cousin Rose nicked his broomstick, transfigured it into a toy pony and then tried to tell him that she didn't know it was his) Jamie would blow up and shout at everyone and most often break things. This time, however, he didn't. Jamie didn't raise his voice, he didn't start towards the nearest breakable object, he merely stood between his mother and the Headmaster and asked one simple question; "How?"

Ginny suddenly went pale and sat down. Quite softly she said; "I need a firewhisky."

Snape's eyebrows rose, however he poured a glass of firewhisky and sat it on the desk in front of Ginny. Jamie's eyes followed every move Snape made. He wasn't ready to believe that the Headmaster was his father.

"Are you sure you want to hear this? Maybe if we wait awhile, you have had a few shocks already tonight, and on top of that you're injured. Yes, not a good idea –"

"Shut up Ginevra." Snape said, almost gently, and then added in a harsher tone; "Don't molly-coddle the boy." He turned to face Jamie, who was mentally applauding his headmaster for doing one thing that many feared, telling his mother to 'shut up'. "Sit down. You will hear this on one proviso; that you _do not interrupt_."

Eager, Jamie sat in the chair next to his mother, careful not to agitate any of his burns. He knew that if anyone would tell him what he needed to know, it was the man in front of him.

"Fifteen years ago, the Second War began. The Dark Lord made his public appearance, confirming that he was, as Harry Potter had been saying, back. People were disappearing and turning up days, even weeks later, dead. The Dark Lord was doing what he could to weaken "The-Boy-Who-Lived" but it was clear that he wasn't doing enough. Then when Potter and his to best friends Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley vanished, he formed a plan. The one thing left that was close to Potter, important to him, that was still vulnerable was your mother. He had some of his Death Eaters kidnap her as she was boarding the Hogwarts Express on her way to home for the Christmas holidays. As you can imagine, the news that the youngest Weasley never made it home spread quickly and soon found its way to Potter's ears."

Jamie didn't quite know what some of the terms Snape was using were, but he didn't interrupt in case the Headmaster stuck true to his word and refused to say anymore. Beside him he could hear his mother muttering: "I don't like being referred to as a _thing_." and other rude remarks.

"Ginevra was held for months by the Dark Lord and he often let his cronies "play" with her. He began to get impatient; however, that Potter wasn't showing himself. So he decided to go a little bit further. The Dark Lord decided to kill Ginevra, and he planned to send her body home to her parents, bit by bit. I could not let this happen, so I offered up a suggestion. "What would be more painful for Potter; a dead girl? Or his fiancée being ruined by a Death Eater and made to carry a Death Eater child?" Thankfully, the Dark Lord liked my idea and chose it over killing her. The other Death Eaters, however, were not happy. They were hoping that perhaps they could 'accidently' kill her while raping her. It seemed that the Dark Lord realised this and so he gave her to me. There was no worry of me killing her, but the Dark Lord wanted to make sure that Ginevra conceived a child. Seeing as he didn't really trust anyone other than himself, I was made to rape your mother in his presence. After that I took her to my rooms here in the castle and tended to her wounds. I would not give her back to her family unhealthy."

Jamie was stunned. That people could really think of doing that to someone, an innocent girl at that was shocking. He was disgusted at what these 'death eaters' put his mother through and felt a strong urge to avenge his mother and all that she had lost because of them.

"It was two or three months after that that I saw my family again. Seven months in total since I was kidnapped." Ginny took up telling the story. "Harry had been at headquarters for six weeks and getting thoroughly annoyed at the lack of rescue plans when they received word from Severus that I was safe. He explained to them the situation and told them that as soon as I was healthy enough, he would bring me to them.

"The school year had ended and it was the beginning of summer when we made our way to headquarters. Harry asked me to marry him on the first night back and the very next day the ceremony took place. Harry wanted to adopt the child, you. He said that he still loved me and that we could raise the child together, that he would love you as his own and that after the war, we could give you brothers and sisters. He also wanted to throw in Voldemort's face that his plan had backfired. The world would only know that during the war, Harry and I had secretly gotten married and were expecting a child, not that due to being captured and raped I was carrying a Death Eater's child.

"I didn't go back to school after that. Professor McGonagall sent me the work and I passed my N.E.W.T's that way. It was not long after New Years that the Final Battle took place. Harry and Voldemort duelled on the grounds of Hogwarts surrounded by a giant circle of the remaining followers for light and dark. I wasn't there. I was in the Hospital wing helping with the injured, but we could just see the battle ground from the window. One curse and they were both gone forever.

"It was both a happy and sorrow filled time. Many people grieving over lost loved ones while celebrating the end of Voldemort's reign. When it came time for you to be born, people around me were panicking. In believing that you were Harry's child, they all were of the opinion that I was going into a premature labour. Only four people, not including myself ever knew the truth. Your Nan, Pop and Severus were the only living people who knew, so my dear mum put out the story that the early labour was due to my grieving over Harry's death."

The room was silent. Jamie was unsure how to react to all the information he had just been given. _They were only kids at the time,_ he thought_ how could anyone let that happen?_ _Mum and Dad were both s'posed to be in school. No, not 'dad'. Mum and Harry._ He added bitterly as an afterthought.

"James? Are you ok?" Ginny asked softly, her concern evident on her face. Snape opened his mouth to say something, but Jamie spoke first.

"Did he adopt me?"

"What?" Ginny asked confused.

"Did he actually adopt me?" Jamie repeated, his voice void of emotion.

"What...Harry? I...well...no –"

"No?" he cut off his mother's ramblings.

"The child must be born for the adoption to take place." Snape said firmly, no doubt pleased that Harry Potter was not the father of his son.

"In that case, I don't want his name."

Ginny's face paled but quickly went red. "What?" She said again, Jamie thought she was starting to sound like a broken record.

"You heard me Mum. I don't want his name." With that, Jamie stood up and walked over to the door. He opened it, but stopped and turned around. "Goodnight Mum, Professor." Ginny, sat staring and mumbled something under her breath. Snape looked Jamie in the eyes.

"Goodnight Mr. Snape."

Jamie gave a jerky nod to the headmaster before leaving the room. He slowly and carefully made his way to Gryffindor tower, wondering if Ben would be waiting up for him.


End file.
